Alaska Professor on Radio: Fukushima fallout a suspected factor in ‘unusual mortality’ of seals and walrus — We couldn’t test for plutonium

In the days and weeks following 3/11, cesium-134 levels were roughly equal to cesium-137 levels. It is highly unlikely that cesium-134 was detected in the seals from the 1990s. If cesium-137 levels were comparable, adding in the cesium-134 means the 2011 seals should have about double the total cesium levels than the seals from the 1990s.

In addition to cesium-134, exposure to short-lived radionuclides like iodine-131 were left out of the discussion. According to official estimates, iodine-131 releases from Fukushima were estimated to be 10 times higher than cesium-137.

Iodine-131 is blamed for causing various thyroid issues in exposed humans. According to the scientists who examined these seals and walrus, thyroid cysts were observed — something that appears to never have been documented before in this area.